For more than 50 years, table tennis in schools has been providing young people with opportunities to compete, develop their skills and create memories that last a lifetime in lessons, clubs and as they represent their school in competitions.
Today, that tradition continues as part of Table Tennis England’s commitment to children and young people through a structured competition pathway that starts at the local level and culminates at the Butterfly National Schools Championships.
Behind every competition is an enormous amount of work undertaken by committed volunteers and supported by Table Tennis England staff in administration and organisation, entries and team selections, and results management and communication, all playing an important role in making the programme successful.
To help us sustain and grow this vital part of our sport, we are looking for volunteers who would like to help shape the future of table tennis in schools.
You do not need to be an expert in school sport or table tennis competitions, as we are looking for people with a range of skills and experiences who are passionate about supporting young people and helping the sport to thrive.
Our aim is to build on the current workforce supporting table tennis in schools to grow a larger team around them, bringing in new skills and sharing responsibilities around a broader group of people who can carry participation and competitions forwards.
Our commitment to table tennis in schools
Many participants first experienced organised competition through school table tennis before going on to be players, coaches, officials and volunteers in a variety of settings and at a variety of levels.
Across England, 51 Schools County Associations support local qualification competitions and pathways and, during the 2025/26 season, approximately 300 school teams reached the Area Finals stage in the National Schools Team Championships. The National Schools Finals weekend alone saw more than 400 young people competing across over 1,000 matches.
Table Tennis England remains fully committed to ensuring that this legacy continues and will continue to provide support across governance, finance, administration, communications and programme delivery.
We also recognise that the table tennis community across the country is hugely passionate about this area of the sport and holds a lot of knowledge, skills and experiences that can make the future of table tennis in schools even better than what has gone before.
The Schools Committee and wider volunteer network have delivered these opportunities with dedication and commitment for many years. However, as participation and demand continue to grow, there is an opportunity to strengthen and expand the team supporting schools table tennis.
How you can get involved
If you have a passion for school sport and an interest in table tennis, connections within local schools, colleges, clubs, county associations and would be interested in helping to grow table tennis in schools, we would love to hear from you.
Potential opportunities include:
- National Schools Team and Individual Championships support
- Primary Schools International and Senior Schools International support
- Communication and engagement
- Competition administration
- Data and results administration
- Event-day support
- Volunteer coordination
- Sponsorship and fundraising support
We are particularly keen to hear from anyone interested in taking on a County Schools Secretary roles or adding additional support to the teams in Avon, Buckinghamshire, London East, London West and Oxfordshire.
If you are interested in getting involved in these areas or any other parts of England, please reach out to Chris Brown, Director of Table Tennis Development and Table Tennis England at [email protected] before Friday 21 August.
Whether you can contribute regularly or support a specific area of the programme, we would love to hear from you.
Together, we can ensure that table tennis in schools continues to inspire the next generation of players, coaches, officials and volunteers.
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